State News Roundup

The 21st Century Education Commission in Rhode Island issued its
final report last month, calling for an array of reforms ranging from
shared decisionmaking at every school to creation of a series of
professional-development schools to train teachers.

The commission, appointed by Gov. Bruce G. Sundlun, urged the state
department of education, along with schools and districts, to establish
statewide standards for student outcomes and to develop
performance-based assessments linked to those standards. Schools that
fail to meet the standards over several years should be subject to
state intervention, including closure, the commission recommended.

In addition, the commission suggested that each Rhode Island
district develop a formal and ongoing improvement process, including
curriculum plans and a local accountability mechanism.

In the area of school funding, the commission said the state should
pay 60 percent of the cost of education and should provide a more
equitable allocation of state aid for public schools.

The commission earlier backed away from Mr. Sundlun's suggestion
that the state look at a regionalization plan that would consolidate
the number of school districts from 37 to no more than 6.

A California appeals court has ruled that public-school officials in
the state cannot be held liable for the welfare of students off campus
and after school unless they have reason to believe there will be
trouble.

The court last month overturned a lower-court decision and found
that the Los Angeles Unified School District was not negligent in its
supervision when a high-school student was shot after school in 1985 on
a street adjacent to his campus.

The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, ruled 3
to 0 on March 16 to overturn a Los Angeles superior court's award of
$120,000 in damages to Ernest P. Brownell 3rd, who was wounded minutes
after being dismissed from Johnson Opportunity High School in
south-central Los Angeles.

Mr. Brownell was attacked by gang members wearing the red colors of
the "Bloods,'' who had mistaken him for a member of their rival gang,
the "Crips.'' Mr. Brownell charged that the district was negligent
because it had dismissed students without first determining if the
street in front of the school was free of gang members, the decision
said.

But the appeals court found the district had "satisfied its
supervisorial responsibilities.''

School officials had testified that during 1985 it was school policy
to prohibit the wearing of gang colors and paraphernalia and that they
often confiscated such items--as well as weapons--from students.

"[T]he law requires ordinary care, not fortresses; schools must be
reasonably supervised, not impenetrable to all gang-related violence,''
the court wrote.

Charles Carpenter, a lawyer representing the school district, said
he was pleased but not surprised by the ruling.

"There was no evidence in any way that the teachers and the
administrators at that school had any notice that there was going to be
an incident that day,'' he said.

Mr. Brownell's lawyer could not be reached for comment last
week.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld the 1990 dismissal of the
superintendent of the state's school for the deaf.

The high court ruled last month that the school's trustees had the
right to fire Alma L. Alexander after an investigation revealed dozens
of incidents of unreported abuse dating back to the 1970's. The alleged
abuse included fondling, student rapes, physical abuse, and
neglect.

The school's trustees voted to dismiss Ms. Alexander for lack of
leadership and for failing to report suspected abuse, as required by
state law. She was never charged with any criminal wrongdoing.

After a local court upheld the firing in July 1990, Ms. Alexander's
lawyers appealed to the state supreme court.

Ms. Alexander is retired and living in Louisiana, according to her
lawyer.

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